US Mosques Tighten Security Measures During Ramadan

Rabat – US mosques are determined to protect Muslim worshipers during the holy month of Ramadan amid an increase of worldwide attacks on mosques, churches, and synagogues.

Taraweeh prayers, which are extra prayers carried out every night throughout Ramadan, started on Sunday, May 5, the eve of the first day of the holy month in the US.

The Washington Post reported that mosques across the US are taking strong security measures against attacks similar to Christchurch terror shooting, which killed 51 Muslims inside two mosques in March 2019.

The mosques’ safety preparations include “preparedness drills,” as well as recruiting armed or undercover security staff and training volunteers to ensure security at mosques and its surroundings.

Quoting staff from Dar Al-Hijrah mosque in Northern Virginia Saif Rahman, The Washington Post said that preachers convened ahead of Ramadan to discuss security for the holy month.

The mosque receives 1,000 worshipers every day during Ramadan, according to the news outlet.

The mosque has been providing “active-shooter response training” for its session after the shooting at a synagogue in Pittsburgh in October 2018. Eleven people were killed in the Synagogue shooting.

The mosque also organized a meeting for mosque members from across the region. During which Rahman informed other staff from the other mosques on “public funds they can apply for if they want to hire security guards,” The Washington Post reported.

“Houses of worship should not be military barracks,” Rahman said.

He added, “I just hope instead of us thinking along those lines, we think about how we can heal wounds and fight ignorance together. These preventative measures aren’t necessarily solving the root cause, which is ignorance. Ignorance breeds hate.”

In recent years, attacks on mosques and other worshiping sites have increased. One of the latest heinous incidents were in Sri Lanka, where several bombings exploded inside churches, killing more than 200 attendees of an Easter celebration on April 21, 2019.